1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general relates to paper plates and, more particularly, a serving tray that is shipped flat and folded open into a three-dimensional tray.
Paper plates are well known. Variations include serving trays that are folded from a flat sheet into a substantially three-dimensional structure. These are often used in the food service industry to contain food that is to be consumed. They are typically discarded after a single use.
For example, these prior devices often form a simple tray with vertical sides and open top when folded open. They are used for a variety of purposes, some of which include holding French Fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, and other typical fast food items but not a drink cup or can. They are used in ball parks and by various food vendors.
While useful, there are needs that all known prior types of devices fail to satisfy. For example, the prior known folding serving trays either cannot or have great difficulty simultaneously holding a beverage. This is because a beverage is heavy and the thin cardboard (i.e., fiberboard) used for such construction fails to support the beverage which can tilt and spill as the support fails. A hot beverage that is spilled on a person can cause injury which is a liability risk.
Also, beverages typically come in a variety of differently sized cylindrical containers, for example, soda cans, individual cups, coffee cups, etc. Some of these include a tapered diameter and therefore are substantially frusta-conical in shape. There has been no reliable, safe, and convenient way to securely house a great many of the different sizes and styles of beverage containers.
Another need is to provide a way to hold the serving tray at a balance point, proximate a center of gravity when it is loaded.
There is also a need to be able to store a napkin or eating utensils, for example a plastic fork or spoon, most typically being used, simultaneously while the food is contained in the tray.
An especially important need is for the container to retain its “folded-open” position. The sides of previous trays tend to be easily displaced, especially so when the weight of contents in the tray bears upon the sides of the tray. This can cause food items placed therein to spill out of the tray. Food spilled on a person can ruin clothes which is another liability risk. There is a need to ensure that a folding serving tray, once folded into the open position adapted for use, stays in that position.
Accordingly, there exists today a need for a folding serving tray that helps ameliorate the above-mentioned difficulties.
Clearly, such an apparatus would be a useful and desirable device.
2. Description of Prior Art
Paper plates and trays are, in general, known. For example, the following patent describes a similar type of device:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,217 to Edmond Lim, Jan. 1, 1991.
While the structural arrangement of the above described device, at first appearance, has similarities with the present invention, it differs in material respects. These differences, which will be described in more detail hereinafter, are essential for the effective use of the invention and which admit of the advantages that are not available with the prior device.